As more companies have welcomed remote and hybrid working, many employees are happy with this approach. However, this can make it more difficult to show appreciation for your staff and their good work. David Cooper offers pointers on how to maintain positive engagement with your staff
As many businesses have transitioned to working from home, a recent survey by the UK government found that 85% of adults favour a ‘hybrid’ approach to working in the future, with some time spent in the office with colleagues and some spent home working.
This should come as no surprise — when employees work from the space where they are most comfortable and productive, they are able to get more done, and make time for healthy habits like spending time with family, exercises, and cooking nutritious meals. But, with the rise of remote workplaces, how can you keep up company engagement and recognise the good work your staff are doing? Here’s how to show appreciation for your employees when they are working remotely.
Having regular in-person check ins
Though working remotely can be extremely productive and convenient for people, it’s important to still maintain the social side of being part of a company, and keep employees connected to each other. So, find some times when you can do social events, in-person meetings, conferences, or other initiatives that keep that connection going and give you a space to provide positive feedback.
Regular one-to-one meetings with managers, opportunities to represent the company at conferences and events, and facilitating in-person feedback can all go a long way towards making workers feel like they are appreciated.
Giving staff the tools for remote connection
As well as keeping up with in-person catch ups, there are many ways that you can encourage people to connect remotely while working from home. There are more online platforms than ever for facilitating this, so have a look at which ones might suit your business.
Video calls, quizzes, games evenings, and online escape rooms can all be great ideas to allow staff to spend time with each other outside of work. To keep people connected and communicating within their work, try using a centralised platform for all your work tasks, with chat functions built in. This will allow staff to easily contact each other to ask for input on ideas, and keep the spirit of teamwork going effortlessly.
If you’re not sure which platforms to start using, or unsure which ones your staff are finding useful, it can be good to do a feedback poll to ask people’s opinions. By regularly asking employees for feedback, you’ll be aware of any tools that are working particularly well, allowing you to streamline and improve your business processes.
Gifting for holidays and birthdays
Another way to show your appreciation for staff, is to take the opportunity to reward them at events like birthdays, Easter, and Christmas. You can opt for sourcing your own little gifts each time, or sign up to a workplace rewards scheme to make sure that everyone will be taken care of without you having to keep up with everyone’s birthdays.
You can also use gifting to show your employees that you know them more personally, rather than them just being a face on a screen. Try using cocktail giftboxes, and send them a serving of their favourite mixed drink in the post for them to put together at home. Or, send them something meaningful on their work anniversary, like a crystal whiskey glass or decanter. Adding individual touches to corporate presents will give your company a much more individual ethos, and show employees that you are taking note of their hard work.
Taking the time to include personal touches will also make employees feel they are being noticed. So, try handwriting thank you cards and sending them in the post, and sign birthday and Christmas cards rather than having them printed. You can try adding engravings on glasses to make them more unique and memorable.
Introducing incentives and bonuses
Having incentives and bonuses throughout your business year can help keep employees focused on upping their performance, and show them that their work will be rewarded. Try instituting some incentives that are related to your business — if you produce products, offer discounts when staff buy from you, as they’re also likely to be fans of your output and become shoppers too. If your business is more administrative, try signing up to a discount scheme so that staff can get discounts when they’re out and about shopping or dining in restaurants.
Performance-related bonuses can also work extremely well to encourage people to reach for higher goals. Remember to communicate your incentives and bonuses clearly with staff so that they know exactly what to expect. Not only will this make them feel more motivated to reach higher targets and complete projects, but they will also know that you are looking out for them to appreciate their hard work more.
Providing perks during the workday
Finding ways to reward staff throughout the workday, and giving them time to recharge, can really make a difference to whether they feel appreciated by their employer. Try things like working an hour less on Friday, holding team or company-wide lunches, coffee breaks, and games afternoons, or just invite them to plan time with their manager for school pick-ups and medical appointments.
With remote planning tools, giving people time to take breaks during the workday is much easier, and this can really make staff feel energised to come back to work. Establishing open and constructive communication between yourself and your staff is crucial here, as this way you’ll be able to work out what concessions are possible during your work week, without sacrificing your productivity.
Facilitating peer to peer recognition
Encouraging your employees to praise each other’s work is a great way to reward them, as well as a great way to build a positive and supportive company culture. So, introduce schemes where staff members can nominate each other for great ideas, completing a new project, or giving an outstanding presentation.
You can do this by having staff members nominate someone for their work every week or month, or by signing up to a scheme where employees can send little rewards to each other. These can include things as small as shout-outs on the company newsletter, or they can be more substantial, such as vouchers for shopping or eating out.
Offering learning and training remotely
It’s important that you don’t lose your training, learning, and development schemes when transitioning to remote workplaces. Make sure that you are still offering ways for your staff members to progress. This can be through online courses, seminars, or mentorship schemes set up between entry-level and more senior employees.
You can devise these initiatives and offer them to your company for people to sign up to. Construct a timetable for these events that fits around your company’s work, and that way your learning and training programmes will compliment your projects at work.
It can be difficult to find ways of appreciating and connecting with employees remotely when you are so used to working side by side in an office, but there are plenty of ways that you can build a positive company culture that rewards hard work. If you introduce ways for staff members to feel appreciated, they will be more motivated to produce better work, and collaborate more effectively.
David Cooper, is the owner of family-run glassware brand Forever Crystal. Establishing the company in 2006, David strives to create new and exciting products that his customers will cherish. As an industry leader with a wealth of experience and knowledge spanning over 15 years he is able to share his advice across a variety of publications.
